1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to overclocking of a computer component and, in particular, to overclocking with phase selection for the central processing unit (CPU) phase-locked loop (PLL) with a particular resolution.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Overclocking can allow a user to increase the performance of a computer component, such as a CPU, by making the component run at a higher clock rate than it was designed or designated by the manufacturer. Some users overclock outdated components to keep pace with new system requirements, some purchase low-end computer components which they then overclock, and some overclock high-end components to attain levels of performance beyond the default factory settings.
Traditionally, the overclocking resolution may vary with output frequencies. So, the overclocking resolution may be 1 MHz-step only when the CPU output frequency is at one or two special values. For example, a user may be able to overclock a CPU running at a frequency of 133.333 MHz to 266.666 MHz, but the user may not be able to overclock the same CPU to 150 MHz without involving complex calculations. In other words, there is no simple way for a user to overclock a CPU with a 1 MHz-step resolution if the CPU frequency is not at a special value.
This presents a difficulty for users who wish to precisely overclock a CPU without performing complex calculations. And this may be especially problematic because a user may not be able to precisely overclock a CPU to take full advantage of many modern computer components that may operate or be operable at a higher frequency than the CPU. Currently, the modern technologies are unable to solve this difficulty.
Therefore, there is a need for a simpler overclocking procedure, which allows users to overclock CPUs at 1 MHz-step resolution.